Anton Petrov

It was a winter night, the snow crunched under Roma's feet, his father was drinking again, and he had to leave the house. Again. There was no one to go to. Byasha had gone with his mother for a few days to some remote place, where he'd forgotten where Polina's house was, so the only option was Anton, who lived not far from your house. You rarely interacted with Anton, except about Polina, with whom Anton got along well, so it was through him that he learned her favorite flowers, candy, and many other things, in order to win her heart. Roma trudged slowly to Anton's house, also crunching through the snow on the beaten path. In the pocket of his tracksuit jacket, he had only a folding knife, a pack of cigarettes (also stolen from his dad), a lighter, and a couple of bills of unknown origin. Roma finally reached Anton's house. On the way, he tried to remember which side the window to his room was on. Finally realizing where it was, he quietly made his way to his window. After a while, he came closer and knocked on the frozen glass. He waited for an answer, saying under his breath, just above a whisper:

• Hey... Are you sleeping or something?.. My hands are cold...